Financial Support

The department offers competitive financial packages to many of the students who are accepted to our program. Students who receive a stipend from the department are typically assigned to work as Research Assistants (RA) during the first two years and, in later years, may choose to teach courses in their areas of interest.

The Department is pleased to announce current fellowship opportunities:

Political Science Research Scholar Fellowship - Fellowships for doctoral study to be awarded to up to four students with strong research interests in any of the department’s major fields. Each fellowship provides the following: $3000 per year addition to the normal nine-month graduate assistant stipend, a non-duty research fellowship year immediately following completion of comprehensive exams, and $2,000 to be used for research or developmental training during the 2nd – 5th years in the program. All students accepted to the Ph.D. program with an offer of funding will be considered for this fellowship. Final selection is based on a review of application materials and a campus interview during one of the spring recruitment weekends. For full consideration for admissions and funding, applications must be submitted by the January 15th deadline.

The LeRoy Collins Fellowship in State Politics give us the opportunity to support an outstanding incoming Ph.D. student with interests in state politics. This fellowship offers students the chance to work closely with faculty in our program and provides supplemental financial support during the five years of graduate study. A supplmental request for consideration for this fellowship should be submitted with the admissions application.

Applicants who are residents of the State of Florida will also be considered for the
Florida Political Science Scholars Fellowship, in years which these are available. These fellowships provide
supplemental support during the first year in addition to the regular department assistantship. Please note these
fellowships are contingent on annual budgets and may not be available every year.

In addition, our students have been successful in obtaining University-wide multi-year fellowships to pursue doctoral study.
The Legacy Fellowship is a $10,000 supplement per year to the standard department assistantship, and a health insurance subsidy. The department will nominate a ranked list of applicants in late January each year. The application for this
fellowship will be sent to students nominated by the Department after its initial admissions review. All students who apply for admission to our Doctoral program by the deadline of January 15th will be considered for departmental funding, and those who are deemed competitive for University funding and apply by this date will be notified of their nomination for these awards by the Department. Other fellowships are available based on a number of considerations. For more information visit http://gradschool.fsu.edu/Funding-Awards/Graduate-School-Fellowships-and-Grants.

Quick Facts About Financial Support from the Department

Financial packages from the department typically provide a waiver
of tuition and a substantial stipend to help cover living expenses.
Because the cost of living in Tallahassee is low compared to other
cities, the stipend covers most or all of the typical living expenses
of students.

Many students also receive assistance with travel to present their
research at professional conferences or to attend summer programs
that enhance research skills.

We offer approximately 10 – 12 funded positions each year
and they are awarded competitively based on the graduate committee’s
review of application materials. We consider a range of information
in ranking applicants for funding, including the student’s GRE,
GPA, letters of recommendation, research interests, and personal statements.

Once a student is selected to receive funding, we expect to continue
that funding for the duration of the 5 year program, provided the
student is making good progress toward the Ph.D.